The program is open to University of Washington undergraduate and graduate students in landscape architecture and related disciplines. One quarter of landscape architectural or architectural history prior to departure is required. At least one full year of design studio in a landscape architecture, architecture, or urban design is preferred, but not required.

This program will examine the creative practice of mapping as method and mode for comprehending and generating understanding regarding the complexity of urban environments. The city of Rome, with its more than 2,700 year settlement history, will provide the material for our investigations.

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Program Description

Taught in collaboration with local historians the program will be based in the University of Washington Rome Center in the heart of the historic city. At its doorstep are incomparable urban landscapes in one of Europe’s oldest and most fascinating cities. The program will also explore the landscapes and urban forms of other Italian regions, cities, and estate gardens as a laboratory for understanding the deep contributions to design and urbanism generated by Italian designers in the development of western culture.

Specifically, the program will explore the city and region of Rome through the lens of urbanism and infrastructure. With a focus on the infrastructures of water in relationship to the processes and patterns of urban development, students will consider how the historical urban geographies of Rome have collectively shaped the contemporary city. Engaging with emerging theory in landscape architecture, urban design and critical cartography students will work to develop cartographic practices for moving beyond static tracings to understand the city and its landscape as a dynamic, self-perpetuating and evolving entity.

Field trips outside of Rome will expand the student's understanding of Italy and of Rome's role as its cultural and political center. The program includes courses in design studio, graphic representation, and urban environmental history. Italian language instruction will also be available.

Location

Rome, Italy

Sites

Amalfi, Cinque Terra, Florence, Naples, Paestum, Pompeii, Siena

Housing

UW Rome Center and nearby apartments

Academics

Pre-Requisites/Language Requirements

The program is open to University of Washington undergraduate and graduate students in landscape architecture and related disciplines. One quarter of landscape architectural or architectural history prior to departure is required. At least one full year of design studio in a landscape architecture, architecture, or urban design is preferred, but not required.

There is no language requirement, but rudimentary Italian would obviously be helpful. There will be extensive walking in areas that lack universal access.

Credits

15 Credits

Courses

LARC 498/598 (5 credits) - Urban Histories

The history/theory course will consist of lectures, walking tours and visits to significant sites in Rome and in other cities and regions of Italy. Instruction will be supplemented with local experts and educators familiar with the location and topic under consideration. Students will be required to record course investigations in a sketchbook/journal as well as do an individual research project of a site or infrastructural system in Rome using a combination of research and on-site observation.

Learning Goals:

1. build knowledge of the urban history of Rome
2. explore methods of historical research
3. develop skills in the composition and writing of an academic paper

LARC 498/507 (6 credits) - Advanced Studio

This research and design studio will examine the emerging role of critical cartographic practices in landscape and urban studies utilizing the complex urban geographies of Rome’s history as material for exploration. Maps have long been critical for comprehending the spatial qualities of our lives. Whether developed through intuition and familiarity or conventions of scale and direction, they enable orientation and understanding of our surroundings. They reveal a deep engagement with the creator’s imagination; a reflection of interest and priority; the idiosyncratic telling of a spatial narrative. Within the field of landscape architecture, maps are commonly used to delineate, scope, and frame the geographic extents of a given project or territorial exploration.

This studio will use the act of mapping to generate spatially-bound diagrammatic explorations of the built environment that explore the complexities, boundaries and perception of place and community in contemporary terms and through time. Engaging with emerging theory in landscape architecture, urban design and critical cartography students will work to develop cartographic practices for moving beyond static tracings to understand the city and its landscape as a dynamic, self-perpetuating and evolving entity. The design work will engage multiple expressions of art, urbanism, and built environments. The final design studio exercise will focus on a landscape network that productively integrates with the complex infrastructures that support the contemporary city.

Advanced use of graphic media to engage site analysis and communication. Instruction will emphasize hybrids of hand and digital representation, as well as mapping, diagramming and 3-D representation of the urban landscape.

LARC 495 (1 credit) - Italian Language

This class will be taught in the Rome Center, by a local Italian language instructor who has worked with the UW Rome Center in the past. This will be an introductory course designed to allow students to speak and understand Italian as quickly as possible.

Learning Goals:

1. Provide the students with a rudimentary knowledge of the Italian language

Program Directors & Staff

Ken Yocom, Department of Landscape Architecture, Program Director

Ken Yocom is an Associate Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture. Trained as an ecologist, landscape architect, and urban designer his scholarly and teaching interests explore the dynamic entanglements in urban environmental histories and the design of contemporary and future cities.

Average Airplane Ticket Price

Payment Schedule

Program fees will be posted to your MyUW student account and can be paid the same way that you pay tuition and other fees. Check your MyUW Account periodically for due dates.

Payment Type

Payment Amount

Payment Due Date

Non-Refundable Study Abroad Fee

$350

October 13, 2017

Program Fee Balance

$7,900

October 13, 2017

TOTAL FEES CHARGED

$8,250

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Scholarships

There are a variety of scholarships available to help fund your study abroad experience. Visit the Global Opportunities page for more information and application deadlines.

Orientation

To be eligible to study abroad, all program participants must attend an in-person pre-departure orientation facilitated by the Study Abroad office as well as your program-specific orientations, offered by your program director.

You must register for orientation through your online study abroad account in order to attend scheduled orientations. You can visit the Orientation section of our website to view the current orientation schedule.

Orientation must be completed prior to the enrollment deadline for the quarter that you are studying abroad.

Financial Aid and Scholarships

Most forms of financial aid can be applied to study abroad. You can verify that your financial aid award will apply to your program costs by contacting the Financial Aid Office. Financial aid or scholarships awarded as tuition waivers or tuition exemptions might not apply so you will need to verify that these funds are eligible for use with study abroad by contacting the funding office.

Financial aid and most scholarships are disbursed according to the UW academic calendar (at the beginning of the quarter). If your program starts before the start of the UW quarter, your financial aid will not be available to you prior to your departure. If your program starts after the first day of the quarter, your financial aid will be disbursed at the start of the program. In either of these cases, you will have to finance any upfront costs such as airfare, health insurance and the start of your time abroad on your own. Please take this into consideration when you are making plans.

Revision Request

In some instances you may qualify for an increase in your financial aid award (typically in loan funds). Check with the Financial Aid Office about your options. To request a revision in your aid, you will need to submit the following paperwork to the Financial Aid Office:

Budget of student expenses for your program: The UW Study Abroad Office will upload this budget to your study abroad account after a signed contract has been submitted to the UW Study Abroad Office. You can request an unofficial copy of this budget by emailing studyabroad@uw.edu.

Visit the Finances section of our website to learn more about disbursement, revising your aid package, short-term loans and scholarships.

Application Process

The application includes a Personal Statement, three short answer questions, and electronic signature documents related to UW policies and expectations for study abroad. Following the on-line application process students may be contacted by the Program Director for an in-person interview. Once an admission decision has been made regarding your application, you will be notified by the study abroad system via email.

Visas

UW Study Abroad is not responsible for obtaining visas for study abroad program participants. The cost and requirements for obtaining visas vary. It is your responsibility to determine visa requirements for all countries you plan to visit while abroad including countries that you plan to visit before or after your study abroad program. You can do so by calling the consular offices of those countries or checking the following website: http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/country.html.

Note: If you are not a U.S. citizen, consult the embassy or consulate of the countries you will visit to learn their document requirements. You can check the following website to find contact information for the consulate of the country you will be visiting: http://www.state.gov/s/cpr/rls/fco/index.htm

For non-U.S. citizens, the procedures that you will need to follow may be different than those for U.S. citizens. It is important to initiate this process as soon as possible in order to assemble documents and allow time for lengthy procedures.

Disability Accommodations

The University of Washington is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in its services, programs, activities, and education for individuals with disabilities. To request disability accommodation for this program, contact Disability Resources for Students at least 8 weeks in advance of your departure date. Contact info at disability.uw.edu.

Withdrawals

$350 of the total program fee and the $350 UW Study Abroad Fee are non-refundable and non-revocable once a contract has been submitted, even if you withdraw from the program. Students withdrawing from a program are responsible for paying a percentage of the program fee depending on the date of withdrawal. More details about the withdrawal policy are included in your payment contract. No part of the program fee is refundable once the program has begun. The date of withdrawal is considered the date (business day) a withdrawal form is received by the UW Study Abroad Office. Notice of withdrawal from the program must be made in writing by completing the following steps:

1. Provide notice in writing to the Program Director that you will no longer be participating in the program for which you have signed a contract and accepted a slot.

2. Submit a signed withdrawal form to the UW Study Abroad Office, 459 Schmitz Hall.